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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30020811">Rage against the dying of the light</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/All_the_devils_are_here/pseuds/All_the_devils_are_here'>All_the_devils_are_here</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bella Swan with a Backbone, F/F, F/M, Self-Discovery, Slow Burn, Wolf Pack, adding tags as I go</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:21:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,584</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30020811</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/All_the_devils_are_here/pseuds/All_the_devils_are_here</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Starts in New Moon. Leah pulls Bella out of her depression and the two of them shake the story up a lot. Bella and Leah are both reeling from their respective breakups and learn that they don't need anybody else to be happy, because they are enough themselves. </p><p>Story is not as sappy as the summary suggests. I'm just bad at summaries I guess.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Carlisle Cullen/Bella Swan, Leah Clearwater &amp; Bella Swan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is the first real work i published. And the first work that is not made for an audience under the age of seven. So be gentle, yes?<br/>Nevertheless, honest feedback is appreciated. I don't have a beta, so all mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out.<br/>Also, I'm not quite sure in what direction i want to go with this. I have a plan, and a kind of plot. But it does have some holes.<br/>So, feel free to share ideas if you like.<br/>The title is from a quite popular poem by Dylan Thomas.<br/>Why is formatting on this site so hard?!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She broke when they left. It was a sobering experience. In hindsight she asked herself how she got so entangled with someone else that she lost herself. To know that she gave someone else so much power to break her.<br/>
After they left, she didn’t do anything. She sat in her room, staring blankly at the walls. Or out the window. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Days bled into weeks. Christmas came and went. It was New Year’s Eve now. It didn’t matter to her, of course. She was home alone; Charlie went down to the reservation to celebrate with the Black’s and the Clearwater’s. She didn’t want to go. Charlie didn’t want to leave her home alone at first, but she insisted.<br/>
It wasn’t midnight yet, but some people already started greeting the new year with fireworks. The colourful illuminations on the sky were beautiful, but it still didn’t matter.  Charlie said he would come back sometime this night. He had an early shift in the morning so he wouldn’t drink tonight. She distantly wondered if he would have asked her to pick him up in the night if he didn’t have to work in the morning. She guessed it didn’t matter. </p><p>A couple of hours later, she flinched as someone violently banged on the door. She didn’t move. The banging didn’t stop. She remembered Charlie wasn’t here. Maybe it was his deputy Marks and they needed him at the station. She rose to her feet and moved downstairs slowly. The banging still didn’t stop.<br/>
When she was downstairs whoever was at the door got impatient. Or more impatient.<br/>
“God dammit, Swan. I know you’re home. Open the bloody door.”, a very angry female voice shouted.<br/>
Huh. Not Charlie’s deputy then. Though she didn’t recognize the voice, the person on the other side of the door clearly knew her. And was very angry at her. Whatever for? She didn’t do anything bad. Of course, she didn’t do anything at all in recent weeks. Months almost.<br/>
She opened the door and came face to face with Leah Clearwater. Huh. Curious. </p><p>“Hello.” </p><p>Leah didn’t acknowledge her greeting at all and stormed into the house, slamming the door closed on the way. Bella didn’t know what to make of that. Shouldn’t she be celebrating New Years with her family? And Charlie? Was he okay? Oh god, hopefully Charlie is okay.<br/>
Leah still hadn’t said a word and was pacing in the living room. Bella followed her, worrying her hands.<br/>
“What happened? Is Charlie alright?”, she asked anxiously, showing more feeling than she had since they left her.<br/>
That was apparently the straw that broke the camels back. Leah exploded furiously “Is Charlie okay? Really?! No, he’s not okay! Of course he’s not okay. He is fucking miserable. Because his daughter has apparently decided to end her life and not care one bit about anybody else. He looks like death warmed over. And it’s your damn fault. If you had at least the decency to kill yourself quickly. But no, you have him watch you wither away. And he does too!”<br/>
Bella flinched violently all through Leah’s angry speech and shrunk back into herself. “I’m not trying to kill myself.”, she replied meekly.<br/>
“Yeah? Your doing a fine job of it though.”, Leah retorted angrily. Bella didn’t know what to do with that and just stared at Leah. Which was apparently the wrong thing to do. </p><p>“For heavens sake! Do something, will you? I just came into your home and screamed at you. Don’t you care?” Leah apparently wanted some kind of reaction, but Bella simply didn’t have the energy to do anything. It didn’t seem to be worth it. When she didn’t react, Leah deflated.<br/>
“Look. I came here to help you. I’m just not very good with all that touchy-feely stuff. But I care about Charlie, he’s like my uncle. And he looks horrible. So, I had to do something.” Leah stated. “Alright, I’m leaving now. And when Charlie comes home tomorrow after work, you’re going to look at him. Really look at him. And if you want to continue like you are now, that’s fine. But if you don’t, come by tomorrow, will you?” With that, Leah turned on her heel and left quickly, shutting the door behind her.<br/>
Bella stood in the hall in befuddlement. Slowly making her way into the living room to sit on the couch, she thought about what Leah had said. She hadn’t talked to Leah since she was in Forks the last time over the summer, visiting Charlie. She was nine. Leah was eleven. That was a long time ago. She didn’t know that Leah was still so close to Charlie. Sure, when she was little Harry Clearwater was like an uncle to her. Billy too, come to think of it. She saw both of them nearly every day in the summer. They were Charlie’s best friends and had children around her age. Her father had been elated that she got along so well with his best friend’s children. She felt stupid to assume that just because she wasn’t here anymore the others wouldn’t see each other as often anymore. Harry and Billy didn’t stop being Charlie’s best friends. Their children didn’t stop visiting their fathers. They had whole families, all living together. Something Bella had written off as a dream years ago. </p><p>Charlie seemed to be an eternal bachelor, after Renée left, so that didn’t make for a picture book family. And Renée. Well. Renée dated a new man every month for as long as Bella could remember. Then she had met Phil and he stayed longer than any other man before. And then Renée married him. Could be a nice family, if not for the fact that Phil travelled a lot for his job and a teenage daughter didn’t fir in with the life Renée and Phil wanted. Even if that wasn’t the case, the fact that Phil was closer to her age than her mothers did shatter the picture of perfect family bliss.<br/>
So, Bella didn’t even hope for a real family anymore. Whether it was for her and her parents or for herself somewhere in the future.<br/>
And then she moved to Forks, in the middle of nowhere to her father to get out of her mothers’ hair. And she met the Cullens. She thought, rather naively, she had to admit in hindsight, that she could have it all. She met him and was accepted into his perfect family. She thought she could be part of that family. Have Esme and Carlisle as her parents, who support her in whatever she wants to do and listen to her stupid hopes and dreams. Have siblings, a dream she had given up even before these of a functional parental unit and have brothers and sisters to rely on and goof around with. But of course she wasn’t perfect enough to be part of that ridiculously perfect family. Just a plaything to pass the time with. Eternity can be so very boring, apparently. Not that she would ever find that out for herself now.<br/>
While Bella sat in the living room and mulled over all that, the new year started without her notice. It didn’t matter though, because as she fell asleep on the couch, she was already taking a step into the right direction.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, this is the second chapter today. <br/>I don't think I'll be able to upload every week, but I'll try for every other friday. <br/>I'm currently struggling with getting the story started, beginnings are always hard for me to write. But hopefully that will get better with time. <br/>Ideas and opinions are appreciated. :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Bella woke the next morning, she was in her bed. She was pretty sure she remembered falling asleep on the couch. So maybe Charlie carried her upstairs? But her memories of the last weeks were hazy at best, so maybe she woke up in the night and went to bed. The time on her alarm clock said 9:37. She hadn’t slept that long since she was a child. And she didn’t have any nightmares she could remember. At least not as vividly as usual. She didn’t wake up screaming, so that’s a plus.  It was a long way away from a good night’s sleep, but it was a vast improvement still. <br/>She got up slowly to make breakfast. She didn’t know if she could eat anything at all, but she could try maybe a little. When she got downstairs, she found a note from Charlie wishing her a happy new year and informing her that he would be home around midday. She had slept so long that midday didn’t seem to be that far away. As she made her breakfast, she thought about what Leah had said yesterday. About her wasting away slowly. She couldn’t really argue that; it was true enough. Even if she didn’t really intend to do that. Or rather do nothing really. But Charlie? Was it really that bad for him too? He hadn’t said anything. But then again, he had never been the overly emotional type and didn’t talk much. She resolved to see for herself today. With that plan in mind, she felt a little more prepared for the day. Now that she was awake, so to speak, and not staring at her walls anymore, she didn’t really know what to do with herself. <br/>Maybe she could cook something for Charlie when he came home for lunch. Apparently, someone had been keeping up with the shopping because she had enough to make a decent lasagne. She couldn’t remember if she went to the store, so maybe Charlie did. When the lasagne was properly prepared, it wasn’t even eleven yet. Still two hours to go till Charlie came home. She could read a bit? Concentrating on the page seemed harder than she remembered. She didn’t even know what she was reading. Ah, Dracula. Fitting. In an ironic sort of way. Of course she would gravitate to something that reminded her of them. Of him. Him and his perfect hair and perfect family and… No, stop. She didn’t want to go down that rabbit hole. She wouldn’t get herself out of it. She needed Leah to make her even aware that she was falling. She couldn’t do that again.</p>
<p>The sound of a car door slamming closed made her flinch. She got up to go to the window to see who it was, when she heard the keys rattle on the front doors. That was Charlie? What time was it? The clock in the living room said it was half past one. That couldn’t be right. Could it? Did she spend so much time thinking about them again? Possibly. It wouldn’t be the first time. <br/>“Bells? You okay?”, as Charlie came in, he frowned, worrying about his daughter standing in the living room with a blank expression on her face. <br/>“Dad!” Bella turned around, facing her father, who was still standing undecidedly in the doorway to the living room. “Come in, I made lunch!”<br/>He looked thinner. Although Bella didn’t know if that was just because he worried. Charlie moved towards the kitchen cautiously, as if one wrong look could send her back into the downwards spiral she was stuck in for the last couple of months. She guessed he wasn’t wrong to be worried. She already lost two hours reminiscing about them just today. And she didn’t even notice. She didn’t want to feel that way again. So out of control and anchorless in the world. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to feel all that she avoided to feel since they left, but maybe she had to start. She couldn’t let her life be dictated by them anymore. They left. And they left her behind. She wouldn’t let them break her anymore than they already did.<br/>When the two of them sat at the kitchen table eating the lasagne Bella made, she took the time to really look at Charlie. The longer she did, the worse it got. He looked pale, even with the near constant tan he somehow always kept all year round. The circles under his eyes were almost worse than her own and his whole face looked gaunt. </p>
<p>If she didn’t already resolve to do better, she would now, for Charlie. </p>
<p>Neither of them were overly emotional or tactile person in their affection, but when Bella hugged Charlie after they both got up, he didn’t let go for a long time. <br/>“I love you, Bells, you know that, right?”, Charlie asked. <br/>“Yeah, I know, Dad. I love you too.” They cleaned up the kitchen in silence, and when it was time for Charlie to sit down and watch the latest game, Bella decided that she would drive down to the Rez and see Leah. Hopefully she would be able to help. <br/>“Hey Dad, I’m going to visit Leah, okay?”, Bella didn’t think Charlie would have anything against that. <br/>“Leah?”, Charlie asked incredulously. “As in Leah Clearwater?”, he specified.<br/>“Yeah. She said I could come by.”<br/>“Sure. Drive safe, kiddo. And have fun.”, Charlie said, apparently deciding he would just accept the recent developments. “And tell Harry to come by for the next game, will you?”</p>
<p>When she arrived at the Rez, Bella remembered that she didn’t know where Leah lived. She hadn’t been at the Clearwater’s for ages and then she didn’t ever drive there herself. She would have to ask. But whom? She could ask Billy, she supposed, and hope that he would be helpful and not too angry with her for putting Charlie through all this. <br/>When she drove up to the Black’s house, she didn’t even make it to the door to knock. “Bella?”, an incredulous and familiar voice asked. Jake. He never failed to make her smile and today surprisingly wasn’t any different. <br/>“Hey Jake, how’ve you been? I just came to ask for directions. We should hang out again sometime though.”, Bella told her childhood best friend timidly. She really hoped she could see Jacob more often. She has only been to the Rez a couple of times with Charlie since she moved here. That made her feel a bit guilty. These people raised her and she spent every summer here till she was thirteen. And now she couldn’t even bring up basic politeness and visit sometimes when she moved back. That wasn’t how Charlie raised her. She planned to do better from now on. <br/>“Yeah sure! I’m good! Where do you wanna go then? You sure this is a good idea, you’re not going to get lost on this vast piece of land?”, Jacob smiled sunnily. <br/>“I wanted to visit Leah. She said I could come by. I haven’t been at the Clearwater’s in years and can’t remember where to go.” <br/>“Oh! That’s easy! You just have to drive a bit further down this road and take the second turn on the left. You’ll have to drive a couple of minutes and then their house is the third on the right side. You’ll find it.”, Jacob assured her. <br/>“Thanks! See you later Jake, give me a call when you have a bit of free time, yeah?”</p>
<p>Jake was right, she did fid the house. As she stepped out of her truck, she remembered the summers she spent here, playing around with Jake and Leah, and Rebekah and Rachel, Jakob’s older twin sisters. When she knocked, the door was pulled open and Leah came into view. </p>
<p>“Took you long enough, Swan.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm so sorry I'm late! I was revising this chapter for weeks and didn't like it. I still don't really, but its better. It's a slightly longer as an apology for being late. </p>
<p>Have a Happy Easter! For those who don't care about easter, have a good week!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, I’m making Bella a bit more intelligent or observant and a bit less self-absorbed. AKA she already knows about the wolves because Jacob told her. And she has a tiny bit of logic in her brain that tells her, that if the cold ones were real, it would make sense that the wolves are real too. And she’s a good friend who listens to her friends when they tell her tribe secrets.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leah had apparently been sure that Bella would come along today, and not sometime in the future, because she had sent her parents somewhere else and managed to convince her brother Seth to make himself sparse. Leah told her all that and Bella hoped she wouldn’t have to do much; she was already exhausted by just being outside her own bedroom. Leah, perceptive as ever, told her, if gruffly and accompanied by the rolling of her eyes, to go sit on the couch while she got the snacks. So, Bella made her way to the living room to do es she was told. When she sat, Leah came back from the kitchen with all kinds of unhealthy snacks. Bella wasn’t sure what to make of that. What exactly did Leah expect?<br/>
“I’m not that good with all that feelings stuff and the touchy-feely aspect of a breakup, but you probably know that.<br/>
So, today we’re going to talk shit about our idiotic ex-boyfriends. Do you want to start?”, Leah asked while she took the first tub of ice cream and a spoon. Bella froze all over. She didn’t want to talk about them. She really didn’t want to talk about him. They didn’t want her anymore and they left her. He told her she was just a plaything. Now she didn’t want them. Not that it mattered, they were gone and they wouldn’t go back. She could feel her thoughts spiralling out of control but didn’t have enough energy to do anything about that. When she didn’t answer, Leah started talking again, but Bella couldn’t hear what she said. She felt Leah pull her from the couch and tried to be as helpful as she could. Or at least tried to not make it harder for Leah. She didn’t have control about her body anymore and she couldn’t see where they were going. Her vision went blurry and black dots appeared before her eyes.<br/>
Finally Leah sat her down again and said something else. Bella didn’t react. She hoped Leah just wanted her to stay where she was. She couldn’t do much else. Leah left again and Bella idly wondered if she would come back. They didn’t come back, so why should Leah? She should just drive back home. But she didn’t know where she was or where her truck was. Or her keys.<br/>
Suddenly she was hit with ice cold wetness all over. She blinked. And looked at Leah. Apparently, she looked a bit more in the present than before because Leah seemed relieved.<br/>
“God dammit, Swan. Don’t do that to me!”, Leah tried to sound angry, but sounded more relieved. Bella noted the bucket in Leah’s hand and the puddle of still ice-cold water around her on the porch. So that was how Leah got her out of her own mind. Interesting approach. Maybe she should tell Charlie. On the other hand, maybe not, Bella thought as she came back to herself and started shaking with the cold.<br/>
“Sorry Leah. Thanks.”, Bella said softly.<br/>
“Yeah whatever. Don’t do it again.”, Leah said gruffly. “Go have a shower and I’ll put out some of my clothes you can wear.”<br/>
That sounded like a good idea, so Bella didn’t protest. It was January, so it was very cold outside and with how she was feeling she didn’t think her immune system was very good at the moment. No need to get a lung infection on top of everything else.<br/>
The bathroom was basic but homely and she went under the spray of hot water in the shower gratefully. She washed her hair mechanically and stopped short when she couldn’t remember when she last did that. Gross. No wonder Charlie was worried about her. When she stepped out of the shower, she felt a bit better. Still gross and oily, but at least she wasn’t cold anymore. After shouting a thank you to Leah she got dressed and put her soaking wet clothes over the radiator to dry until she went home. When she got home she would shower again and scrub her skin and hair of the neglect they had endured over the last weeks.<br/>
Leah already sat back down in the living room and ate the previously abandoned ice cream. “Want some?”, she asked and looked as if she hoped Bella would say no. Bella did say no. Leah looked relieved.<br/>

They sat in silence for a while, each of them musing their own thoughts. Leah ate the ice cream and Bella fidgeted with her hands.<br/>
“You know, you have to talk about him eventually.” Bella started to panic. The thick, warm comforter helped keeping her spiralling thoughts at bay. It smelled like the woods on the reservation and of firewood. It smelled like her childhood, like home. “But I’ll give you a break for now.” The panic started fading slowly. She burrowed herself further in the comforter. “I’ll tell you about my ex if you want. I’ll do it if you don’t want to, too. Nobody else wants to listen to a bad word about him. Even my parents. Even though he broke up with me and now is engaged to my cousin. Aren’t my parents supposed to be on my side in a case like this?”<br/>
“I suppose. Makes it easier that Charlie never liked him anyway. No need to change attitude for him now.” Bella didn’t know why she told Leah that, and tried to distract her as soon as possible. She didn’t want to talk about him. “So how come your parents still like your ex? He a saint or something?”<br/>
Leah snorted. Bitterness and hurt seeped into her tone. “Apparently. At least how with the elders treat him. I have no idea what happened. When we were together, I was glad that my parents liked Sam, but now it’s just annoying.”<br/>
Bella sputtered and very nearly choked on the sip of water she just took. “Sam? As in Sam Uley?”<br/>
“Yeah, why? I didn’t think you knew him.” Leah answered, her brows furrowed. She didn’t seem happy at all. Bella prayed to the gods she didn’t believe in that it was a different Sam.<br/>
“You dated Sam? Samuel Uley? Are we talking about the same person here? Tall, dark, mysterious? Sam? Wolf boy Sam?” Bella was so done. Trust her to stumble from her own supernatural relationship drama directly into the next. No. No. Why did she have to be the one entangled with all this?<br/>
“Yes, Sam Uley.” Leah sounded annoyed. Bella didn’t know what to do about that. Didn’t Leah want to have aa normal life? She seemed to be a person who would want to be her own person, not be a part of the tribe in the middle of the supernatural. “And what do you mean ‘Wolf Boy’? What is wrong with you?” Leah stood up, furious, as she connected the dots and realised, that Bella knew more about Sam and his followers than she thought. She did not want another person telling her what a great guy Sam was. Leah was working herself up now. “Don’t tell me you’re one of his little fans too. That’s just pathetic. The boys are bad enough. He tattoos them for god’s sake! They get younger every time and it’s just sick. And instead of doing something about it, the elders let him do whatever he wants.”<br/>
Bella started. She didn’t know. Leah didn’t know about the pack. Why didn’t she know? Her father was one of the elders, there is a possibility that her brother carried the wolf gene. Jacob told even Bella about the legends and she was a pale face. Leah grew up with the stories. Bella did too, to an extent, but she couldn’t remember much, she was still young.<br/>
“And what did you mean ‘Wolf Boy’? Don’t tell me you’re buying into that protector shit too.” Leah ranted. Bella didn’t know what she was supposed to do. She had to tell Leah, of course. But she had to do so carefully.<br/>
“Leah…” Bella started. She wasn’t the right person for this. She could barely keep herself together, not to mention someone else. “You know the legends. You know the stories of your people. Of the wolves, of Taha Akhi.”<br/>
“Of course, I do. Same as you. We all went to the bonfires when we were small, and I still do.” Leah scowled.<br/>
“All the stories are true, Leah.” Bella said. “The wolves, the cold ones. All true.” She tried to sound sure and reasonable. Leah’s snort of laughter told her that she wasn’t too successful.<br/>
“You’re a nutcase, Swan. No other opinion about it.” Leah stated dryly.<br/>
“That might very well be, but it doesn’t change that the stories are true. The wolve shifters are of the tribe, the cold ones their mortal enemies. Aren’t you supposed to know? Your parents are both elders and your father is part of the council.” Bella hoped she didn’t have to explain too much. She tried to look earnest and honest.<br/>
“You’re shitting me.”<br/>
“No. I’m not. Do you really think I’d have the energy to do that?” Bella repressed a sigh.<br/>
“You’re telling me that Sam and his goons are werewolves? Yeah, right. Next you tell me that witches exist, and the ocean is full of mermaids.” Leah sounded not as reluctant as she had in the beginning.<br/>
Bell dragged her hand down her face. This was exhausting. “I don’t know about witches and mermaids. But I’m certain about the wolves and the vampires. The only one I’m certain about being a wolf is Sam though, because I have seen him as a wolf. But it would make sense for his… followers to be part of the pack.”<br/>
Leah looked at her as if she would like to bring Bella to the nearest therapist. Although she seemed to think about the stories she heard as a child.<br/>
“Alright. Say that I believe you – which I don’t – why would you know that? And why tell me?” Leah asked, a suspicious look on her face.<br/>
“I dated a vampire.” Bella told Leah dryly. Leah’s jaw dropped.<br/>
“You’re shitting me.” Oh, how Bella wished she was. “Actually, no. That makes sense. So Doucheward is a vampire. And the other Cullens too, I suppose. Would make sense. Why did you date him? He’s dead! Could be old as dirt! Gross!” Bella wasn’t sure why Leah focussed on that aspect of the revelation. Probably because she couldn’t deal with the fact that her family kept such big news from her. The Cullens didn’t owe her anything, she didn’t have any connections to them.<br/>
“Yep. Whole family of vampires. They were here before, I think they had a treaty with the pack at the time. No idea if they knew about the new pack though.” Bella tried to avoid answering any specific questions about the family, or him. Leah looked as if she would like to press more but decided against it.<br/>
“So the boys of the tribe just suddenly turn into wolves?” Leah asked. “I suppose you become a vampire through biting, just like the stories? It’s a bit pop culture, isn’t it?”<br/>
“I don’t know how the boys become wolves. I think the gene to change is in the bloodline, but I don’t know what happens.” Bella didn’t know what factor decides when to change but supposed the elders must know. “The biting is true, but everything else is pretty far away from the general pop culture vampire. Much less frightening.” At least most of the time. And they hurt her not like you would think vampires would but by leaving her behind and completely destroying her.<br/>
“I need a bit time to think about this. It’s completely bonkers.” Leah did look a bit overwhelmed.<br/>
“I get it. Just thought you should know. You’re already touched by the supernatural. And it won’t be less dangerous just because you are unaware.”<br/>

In the end, Bella thought Leah believed her – more or less. When Bella left, Leah had planned to talk to her parents. When they confirmed all that Bella told Leah, Leah would be angry. Rightly so, in Bella’s opinion.</p>
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